An experienced skydiver died Saturday after a midair collision during a jump at a Texas skydiving center.

Rosharon-based Skydive Spaceland said in a statement that two seasoned skydivers deployed parachutes normally during a planned group jump, then later collided and fell to the ground, killing one and injuring another.

Advertisement

"Both jumpers had made at least one successful skydive earlier that day, had hundreds or thousands of skydives each, and were jumping their own parachute systems," the company said.

The deceased was not immediately identified.

Skydive Magazine has called Skydive Spaceland Greater Houston's largest skydiving center. The business started in Rosharon in 1999 and has since spread to Florida and Georgia.

During a 2012 lawsuit, Skydive Spaceland CEO Steve Boyd acknowledged seven deaths out of about 1 million jumps, which he called a good record given the dangerous nature of the thrill-seeking activity. The company logged its eighth fatality in 2013 when an experienced jumper suffered an equipment malfunction and jettisoned his chute.

The U.S. Parachute Association reports 21 skydiving deaths in 2016 out of approximately 3.2 million jumps nationwide.